AuthenticodeSigner Class

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The AuthenticodeSigner class signs executable files (EXE) and dynamically linked libraries (DLL) using Microsoft Authenticode format.

Syntax

secureblackbox.AuthenticodeSigner

Remarks

Use this component to sign your binaries and optionally timestamp them.

Authenticode signing of executables is a must in the majority of modern Windows-based environments and infrastructures. A digital signature over the executable ensures that the executable comes from a trusted vendor, verified by the CA that issued the certificate.

While Microsoft provides a tool that facilitates creation of Authenticode signatures, in some cases that tool may be awkward or even impossible to use. In those cases the AuthenticodeSigner component can stand in for the job. Capable of signing executables on all supported platforms, using certificates residing on any kind of media (including remote ones, via PKI Proxy), AuthenticodeSigner can easily fit any build environments imaginable.

AuthenticodeSigner supports the latest security algorithms and standards, including SHA2, ECDSA, timestamping, and cross-signing certificates. AuthenticodeSigner signer = new AuthenticodeSigner(); signer.setHashAlgorithm("SHA256"); // Default hashing algorithm SHA256 // Select the file which contains the executable that will be signed signer.setInputFile("executable.exe"); // Select the file where the signed executable will be saved signer.setOutputFile("signedExecutable.exe"); // Specify the certificate that shall be used for signing the exectutable signer.setSigningCertificate(new Certificate("cert.pfx","password")); // Provide the address of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) server to be used for timestamping the signature signer.setTimestampServer("http://..."); signer.sign(); // Sign

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

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The following is a list of config settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

BlockedCertificates Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The certificates that must be rejected as trust anchors.

Syntax

public CertificateList getBlockedCertificates();
public void setBlockedCertificates(CertificateList blockedCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to provide a list of compromised or blocked certificates. Any chain containing a blocked certificate will fail validation.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

ClaimedSigningTime Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The signing time from the signer's computer.

Syntax

public String getClaimedSigningTime();
public void setClaimedSigningTime(String claimedSigningTime);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the signature production time. The claimed time is not supported by a trusted source; it may be inaccurate, forfeited, or wrong, and as such is usually taken for informational purposes only by verifiers. Use timestamp servers to embed verifiable trusted timestamps. The time is in UTC.

ExternalCrypto Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Provides access to external signing and DC parameters.

Syntax

public ExternalCrypto getExternalCrypto();

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up remote cryptography settings. SecureBlackbox supports two independent types of external cryptography: synchronous (based on the ExternalSign event) and asynchronous (based on the DC protocol and the DCAuth signing component).

This property is read-only.

Please refer to the ExternalCrypto type for a complete list of fields.

FIPSMode Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Reserved.

Syntax

public boolean isFIPSMode();
public void setFIPSMode(boolean FIPSMode);

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

HashAlgorithm Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The hash algorithm to be used for signing.

Syntax

public String getHashAlgorithm();
public void setHashAlgorithm(String hashAlgorithm);

Default Value

"SHA256"

Remarks

The following algorithms are supported: MD5, SHA1, SHA224, SHA256, SHA384, SHA512, SHA3_224, SHA3_256, SHA3_384, SHA3_512.

IgnoreChainValidationErrors Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Makes the class tolerant to chain validation errors.

Syntax

public boolean isIgnoreChainValidationErrors();
public void setIgnoreChainValidationErrors(boolean ignoreChainValidationErrors);

Default Value

False

Remarks

If this property is set to True, any errors emerging during certificate chain validation will be ignored. This setting may be handy if the purpose of validation is the creation of an LTV signature, and the validation is performed in an environment that doesn't trust the signer's certificate chain.

InputBytes Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Use this property to pass the input to class in byte array form.

Syntax

public byte[] getInputBytes();
public void setInputBytes(byte[] inputBytes);

Remarks

Assign a byte array containing the data to be processed to this property.

This property is not available at design time.

InputFile Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

A path to the executable to be signed.

Syntax

public String getInputFile();
public void setInputFile(String inputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

A path to the file containing the executable to be signed. The input can alternatively be provided via InputStream.

InputStream Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Stream containing the executable to be signed.

Syntax

public java.io.InputStream getInputStream();
public void setInputStream(java.io.InputStream inputStream);

Default Value

null

Remarks

A stream containing the executable to be signed. The input can alternatively be provided via InputFile.

This property is not available at design time.

KnownCertificates Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Additional certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

public CertificateList getKnownCertificates();
public void setKnownCertificates(CertificateList knownCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of additional certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when intermediary CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the class manually.

The purpose of the certificates to be added to this collection is roughly equivalent to that of the Intermediate Certification Authorities system store in Windows.

Do not add trust anchors or root certificates to this collection: add them to TrustedCertificates instead.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

KnownCRLs Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Additional CRLs for chain validation.

Syntax

public CRLList getKnownCRLs();
public void setKnownCRLs(CRLList knownCRLs);

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional CRLs that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated CRLs are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the CRL type for a complete list of fields.

KnownOCSPs Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Additional OCSP responses for chain validation.

Syntax

public OCSPResponseList getKnownOCSPs();
public void setKnownOCSPs(OCSPResponseList knownOCSPs);

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional OCSP responses that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated OCSP responses are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the OCSPResponse type for a complete list of fields.

OfflineMode Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Switches the class to offline mode.

Syntax

public boolean isOfflineMode();
public void setOfflineMode(boolean offlineMode);

Default Value

False

Remarks

When working in offline mode, the class restricts itself from using any online revocation information sources, such as CRL or OCSP responders.

Offline mode may be useful if there is a need to verify the completeness of the validation information included within the signature or provided via KnownCertificates, KnownCRLs, and other related properties.

OutputBytes Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Use this property to read the output the class object has produced.

Syntax

public byte[] getOutputBytes();

Remarks

Read the contents of this property after the operation has completed to read the produced output. This property will only be set if the OutputFile and OutputStream properties had not been assigned.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

OutputFile Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The file to save the signed executable to.

Syntax

public String getOutputFile();
public void setOutputFile(String outputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

A path to the file where the class should save the signed executable file. Use OutputStream to save the signed file to a stream instead.

OutputStream Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The stream where the signed executable should be written to.

Syntax

public java.io.OutputStream getOutputStream();
public void setOutputStream(java.io.OutputStream outputStream);

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to specify the stream to accommodate the resulting signed executable.

This property is not available at design time.

Profile Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Specifies a pre-defined profile to apply when creating the signature.

Syntax

public String getProfile();
public void setProfile(String profile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Advanced signatures come in many variants, which are often defined by parties that needs to process them or by local standards. SecureBlackbox profiles are sets of pre-defined configurations which correspond to particular signature variants. By specifying a profile, you are pre-configuring the component to make it produce the signature that matches the configuration corresponding to that profile.

Proxy Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The proxy server settings.

Syntax

public ProxySettings getProxy();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the proxy server settings.

This property is read-only.

Please refer to the ProxySettings type for a complete list of fields.

RemoveExistingSignatures Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Specifies whether to remove any existing signatures before signing.

Syntax

public boolean isRemoveExistingSignatures();
public void setRemoveExistingSignatures(boolean removeExistingSignatures);

Default Value

False

Remarks

If this property is set to True, all the existing Authenticode signatures will be removed from the executable before adding the new one. If this property is False, the new signature will be added on top of the existing ones.

RevocationCheck Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Specifies the kind(s) of revocation check to perform for all chain certificates.

Syntax

public int getRevocationCheck();
public void setRevocationCheck(int revocationCheck);

Enumerated values:
  public final static int crcNone = 0;
  public final static int crcAuto = 1;
  public final static int crcAllCRL = 2;
  public final static int crcAllOCSP = 3;
  public final static int crcAllCRLAndOCSP = 4;
  public final static int crcAnyCRL = 5;
  public final static int crcAnyOCSP = 6;
  public final static int crcAnyCRLOrOCSP = 7;
  public final static int crcAnyOCSPOrCRL = 8;

Default Value

1

Remarks

Revocation checking is necessary to ensure the integrity of the chain and obtain up-to-date certificate validity and trustworthiness information.

Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) and Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responses serve the same purpose of ensuring that the certificate had not been revoked by the Certificate Authority (CA) at the time of use. Depending on your circumstances and security policy requirements, you may want to use either one or both of the revocation information source types.

This setting controls the way the revocation checks are performed for every certificate in the chain. Typically certificates come with two types of revocation information sources: CRL (certificate revocation lists) and OCSP responders. CRLs are static objects periodically published by the CA at some online location. OCSP responders are active online services maintained by the CA that can provide up-to-date information on certificate statuses in near real time.

There are some conceptual differences between the two. CRLs are normally larger in size. Their use involves some latency because there is normally some delay between the time when a certificate was revoked and the time the subsequent CRL mentioning that is published. The benefits of CRL is that the same object can provide statuses for all certificates issued by a particular CA, and that the whole technology is much simpler than OCSP (and thus is supported by more CAs).

This setting lets you adjust the validation course by including or excluding certain types of revocation sources from the validation process. The crcAnyOCSPOrCRL setting (give preference to the faster OCSP route and only demand one source to succeed) is a good choice for most typical validation environments. The "crcAll*" modes are much stricter, and may be used in scenarios where bulletproof validity information is essential.

Note: If no CRL or OCSP endpoints are provided by the CA, the revocation check will be considered successful. This is because the CA chose not to supply revocation information for its certificates, meaning they are considered irrevocable.

Note: Within each of the above settings, if any retrieved CRL or OCSP response indicates that the certificate has been revoked, the revocation check fails.

SignatureDescription Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Sets human-readable signature description.

Syntax

public String getSignatureDescription();
public void setSignatureDescription(String signatureDescription);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide description for the new signature. This is optional.

SignatureIndex Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The index of the signature to timstamp or update.

Syntax

public int getSignatureIndex();
public void setSignatureIndex(int signatureIndex);

Default Value

-1

Remarks

Use this property to specify the index of the existing signature before timestamping or adding custom unsigned attributes. -1 means all the existing signatures.

SignatureURL Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Sets the URL to include in the signature.

Syntax

public String getSignatureURL();
public void setSignatureURL(String signatureURL);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a custom URL with the signature. This is optional.

SignedAttributes Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Custom signature attributes to be covered by the electronic signature.

Syntax

public SignatureAttributeList getSignedAttributes();

Remarks

Signature attributes are used to store auxiliary information in the signature. Values included as signed attributes are covered by the signature.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Please refer to the SignatureAttribute type for a complete list of fields.

SigningCertificate Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The certificate to be used for signing.

Syntax

public Certificate getSigningCertificate();
public void setSigningCertificate(Certificate signingCertificate);

Remarks

Use this property to specify the certificate that shall be used for signing the data. Note that this certificate should have a private key associated with it. Use SigningChain to supply the rest of the certificate chain for inclusion into the signature.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

SigningChain Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The signing certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getSigningChain();
public void setSigningChain(CertificateList signingChain);

Remarks

Use this property to provide the chain for the signing certificate. Use the SigningCertificate property, if it is available, to provide the signing certificate itself.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

SocketSettings Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Manages network connection settings.

Syntax

public SocketSettings getSocketSettings();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up network connection parameters.

This property is read-only.

Please refer to the SocketSettings type for a complete list of fields.

StatementType Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Sets the signature statement type.

Syntax

public int getStatementType();
public void setStatementType(int statementType);

Enumerated values:
  public final static int acsUnknown = 0;
  public final static int acsIndividual = 1;
  public final static int acsCommercial = 2;

Default Value

1

Remarks

Use this property to specify the signature statement type.

TimestampServer Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The address of the timestamping server.

Syntax

public String getTimestampServer();
public void setTimestampServer(String timestampServer);

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the address of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) server to be used for timestamping the signature.

SecureBlackbox supports RFC3161-compliant timestamping servers, available via HTTP or HTTPS.

If your timestamping service enforces credential-based user authentication (basic or digest), you can provide the credentials in the same URL:

http://user:password@timestamp.server.com/TsaService

For TSAs using certificate-based TLS authentication, provide the client certificate via the TLSClientChain property.

If this property is left empty, no timestamp will be added to the signature.

Starting from summer 2021 update (Vol. 2), the virtual timestamping service is supported, which allows you to intervene in the timestamping routine and provide your own handling for the TSA exchange. This may be handy if the service that you are requesting timestamps from uses a non-standard TSP protocol or requires special authentication option.

To employ the virtual service, assign an URI of the following format to this property:

virtual://localhost?hashonly=true&includecerts=true&reqpolicy=1.2.3.4.5&halg=SHA256&ignorenonce=true

Subscribe to Notification event to get notified about the virtualized timestamping event. The EventID of the timestamping event is TimestampRequest. Inside the event handler, read the base16-encoded request from the EventParam parameter and forward it to the timestamping authority. Upon receiving the response, pass it back to the component, encoded in base16, via the TimestampResponse config property:

component.Config("TimestampResponse=308208ab...");

Note that all the exchange with your custom TSA should take place within the same invocation of the Notification event.

The hashonly parameter of the virtual URI tells the component to only return the timestamp message imprint via the EventParam parameter. If set to false, EventParam will contain the complete RFC3161 timestamping request.

The includecerts parameter specifies that the requestCertificates parameter of the timestamping request should be set to true.

The reqpolicy parameter lets you specify the request policy, and the halg parameter specifies the hash algorithm to use for timestamping.

The ignorenonce parameter allows you to switch off client nonce verification to enable compatibility with TSA services that do not support nonce mirroring.

All the parameters are optional.

TimestampType Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Sets the signature timestamp type.

Syntax

public int getTimestampType();
public void setTimestampType(int timestampType);

Enumerated values:
  public final static int actUnknown = 0;
  public final static int actLegacy = 1;
  public final static int actTrusted = 2;

Default Value

2

Remarks

Use this property to specify the signature timestamp type. This can either be a "trusted" timestamp (a weird name applied by the Authenticode specification to a standard RFC 3161 timestamp), or a "legacy" timestamp (an older variant of the base64-encoded TSP protocol).

TLSClientChain Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The TLS client certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTLSClientChain();
public void setTLSClientChain(CertificateList TLSClientChain);

Remarks

Assign a certificate chain to this property to enable TLS client authentication in the class. Note that the client's end-entity certificate should have a private key associated with it.

Use the CertificateStorage or CertificateManager components to import the certificate from a file, system store, or PKCS11 device.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

TLSServerChain Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The TLS server's certificate chain.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTLSServerChain();

Remarks

Use this property to access the certificate chain sent by the TLS server. This property is ready to read when the TLSCertValidate event is fired by the client component.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

TLSSettings Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Manages TLS layer settings.

Syntax

public TLSSettings getTLSSettings();

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the TLS layer parameters.

This property is read-only.

Please refer to the TLSSettings type for a complete list of fields.

TrustedCertificates Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

A list of trusted certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

public CertificateList getTrustedCertificates();
public void setTrustedCertificates(CertificateList trustedCertificates);

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of trusted certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when root CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the component manually.

The purpose of this certificate collection is largely the same as that of the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authorities system store.

Use this property with extreme care as it directly affects chain verifiability; a wrong certificate added to the trusted list may result in bad chains being accepted, and forfeited signatures being recognized as genuine. Only add certificates that originate from the parties that you know and trust.

This property is not available at design time.

Please refer to the Certificate type for a complete list of fields.

UnsignedAttributes Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Custom unsigned attributes to be included in the electronic signature.

Syntax

public SignatureAttributeList getUnsignedAttributes();

Remarks

Signature attributes are used to store auxiliary information in the signature. Values included as unsigned attributes are not covered by the signature and can be changed or removed without affecting the signature.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Please refer to the SignatureAttribute type for a complete list of fields.

ValidationLog Property (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Contains the complete log of the certificate validation routine.

Syntax

public String getValidationLog();

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to access the chain validation log produced by the class. The log can be very useful when investigating issues with chain validation, as it contains a step-by-step trace of the entire validation procedure.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

AddAttribute Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Adds an attribute to the signature.

Syntax

public int addAttribute(String OID, byte[] value, boolean signedAttribute);

Remarks

Use this method to add a signed or unsigned attribute to the collection of attributes included in the new signature.

Note that CAdESSigner creates certain mandatory and/or widely used attributes automatically in accordance with requirements for a specific signing profile. For example, attributes such as SigningCertificateV2 or SigningTime are always added. Policy attributes are added if specified via the PolicyID or PolicyURI properties of the signature object.

Use the OID parameter to provide the object identifier of the attribute, in string form. For example, the OID for the SigningCertificateV2 attribute is 1.2.840.113549.1.9.16.2.47. The Value parameter should contain a well-formed, DER-encoded representation of the attribute value, in accordance with its specification.

Config Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

public String config(String configurationString);

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every class. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the class.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

DoAction Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

public String doAction(String actionID, String actionParams);

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every class. It is used to perform an additional action introduced after the product major release. The list of actions is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier (case insensitive) of the action is provided in the ActionID parameter.

ActionParams contains the value of a single parameter, or a list of multiple parameters for the action in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;....

Common ActionIDs:

ExtractAsyncData Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Extracts user data from the DC signing service response.

Syntax

public String extractAsyncData(String asyncReply);

Remarks

Call this method before finalizing the asynchronous signing process to extract the data passed to the ExternalCrypto.Data property on the pre-signing stage.

The Data parameter can be used to pass some state or document identifier along with the signing request from the pre-signing to the completion async stage.

Reset Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Resets the class settings.

Syntax

public void reset();

Remarks

Reset is a generic method available in every class.

Sign Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Calculates and adds a signature to the executable.

Syntax

public void sign();

Remarks

Use this method to create a new Authenticode signature over the executable as per the configuration of the component.

SignAsyncBegin Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Initiates the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

public String signAsyncBegin();

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method to initiate the asynchronous signing process. Upon completion, a pre-signed copy of the document will be saved in OutputFile (or OutputStream). Keep the pre-signed copy somewhere local, and pass the returned string ('the request state') to the DC processor for handling.

Upon receiving the response state from the DC processor, assign the path to the pre-signed copy to InputFile (or InputStream), and call SignAsyncEnd to finalize the signing.

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID property to supply a unique document ID to include in the request. This is helpful when creating batches of multiple async requests, as it allows you to pass the whole response batch to SignAsyncEnd and expect it to recover the correct response from the batch automatically.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth class), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignAsyncEnd Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Completes the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

public void signAsyncEnd(String asyncReply);

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method upon receiving the response state from the DC processor to complete the asynchronous signing process.

Before calling this method, assign the path to the pre-signed copy of the document obtained from the prior SignAsyncBegin call to InputFile (or InputStream). The method will embed the signature into the pre-signed document, and save the complete signed document to OutputFile (or OutputStream).

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID parameter to pass a specific document ID if using batched AsyncReply. If used, it should match the value provided on the pre-signing (SignAsyncBegin) stage.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth class), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignExternal Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Signs the document using an external signing facility.

Syntax

public void signExternal();

Remarks

Use this method to create an Authenticode signature using an external signing facility for the cryptographic computations. SignExternal delegates the low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. This method is useful if the signature has to be made by a device accessible through a custom or non-standard signing interface.

When all preparations are done and hash is computed, the class fires ExternalSign event which allows to pass the hash value for signing.

Timestamp Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Use this method to add a timestamp to a new or to an existing signature.

Syntax

public void timestamp();

Remarks

Call this method to timestamp the signature(s). If only one of the existing signatures should be timestamped, specify its index using the SignatureIndex property.

Use the TimestampServer property to provide the address of the TSA (Time Stamping Authority) server which should be used for timestamping. Use the TimestampType property to specify the type of timestamp to create.

If a timestamp already exists, this will be handled according to the value of the TimestampConflictResolution config property.

Update Method (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Update an existing signature (or all the signatures) by adding or removing its (their) custom unsigned attributes.

Syntax

public void update();

Remarks

Call this method to add one or mode custom unsigned attributes to an existing signature (specify its index using the SignatureIndex property) or to all the existing signatures (set SignatureIndex to -1).

Use the UnsignedAttributes property to provide new attributes to be added. If an unsigned attribute with the same OID already exists, this will be handled according to the value of the AttributeConflictResolution config property.

If the UnsignedAttributes property is empty, all the existing unsigned attributes in the specified signature (or all the signatures) will be removed.

ChainElementDownload Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when there is a need to download a chain element from an online source.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainElementDownload(AuthenticodeSignerChainElementDownloadEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerChainElementDownloadEvent {
  public int kind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
  public String location;
  public int action; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about validation element retrievals. Use the Action parameter to suppress the download if required.

ChainElementNeeded Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when an element required to validate the chain was not located.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainElementNeeded(AuthenticodeSignerChainElementNeededEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerChainElementNeededEvent {
  public int kind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about missing validation elements. Use the KnownCRLs, KnownCertificates, and KnownOCSPs properties in the event handler to provide the missing piece.

ChainValidationProgress Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

This event is fired multiple times during chain validation to report various stages of the validation procedure.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void chainValidationProgress(AuthenticodeSignerChainValidationProgressEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerChainValidationProgressEvent {
  public String eventKind;
  public String certRDN;
  public String CACertRDN;
  public int action; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about chain validation progress. Use the Action parameter to alter the validation flow.

The EventKind parameter reports the nature of the event being reported. The CertRDN and CACertRDN parameters report the distinguished names of the certificates that are relevant for the event invocation (one or both can be empty, depending on EventKind). Use the Action parameter to adjust the validation flow.

Error Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Information about errors during Authenticode signing.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void error(AuthenticodeSignerErrorEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerErrorEvent {
  public int errorCode;
  public String description;
}

Remarks

This event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during binary processing.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error.

ExternalSign Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Handles remote or external signing initiated by the SignExternal method or other source.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void externalSign(AuthenticodeSignerExternalSignEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerExternalSignEvent {
  public String operationId;
  public String hashAlgorithm;
  public String pars;
  public String data;
  public String signedData; //read-write
}

Remarks

Assign a handler to this event if you need to delegate a low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. Depending on the settings, the handler will receive a hashed or unhashed value to be signed.

The event handler must pass the value of Data to the signer, obtain the signature, and pass it back to the class via the SignedData parameter.

OperationId provides a comment about the operation and its origin. It depends on the exact class being used, and may be empty. HashAlgorithm specifies the hash algorithm being used for the operation, and Pars contains algorithm-dependent parameters.

The class uses base16 (hex) encoding for the Data, SignedData, and Pars parameters. If your signing engine uses a different input and output encoding, you may need to decode and/or encode the data before and/or after the signing.

A sample MD5 hash encoded in base16: a0dee2a0382afbb09120ffa7ccd8a152 - lower case base16 A0DEE2A0382AFBB09120FFA7CCD8A152 - upper case base16

A sample event handler that uses the .NET RSACryptoServiceProvider class may look like the following: signer.OnExternalSign += (s, e) => { var cert = new X509Certificate2("cert.pfx", "", X509KeyStorageFlags.Exportable); var key = (RSACryptoServiceProvider)cert.PrivateKey; var dataToSign = e.Data.FromBase16String(); var signedData = key.SignHash(dataToSign, "2.16.840.1.101.3.4.2.1"); e.SignedData = signedData.ToBase16String(); };

Notification Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

This event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void notification(AuthenticodeSignerNotificationEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerNotificationEvent {
  public String eventID;
  public String eventParam;
}

Remarks

The class fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the class. For example, it may fire to report completion of the document processing. The list of events being reported is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier of the event is provided in the EventID parameter. EventParam contains any parameters accompanying the occurrence. Depending on the type of the class, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

This class can fire this event with the following EventID values:

Start Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

This event is fired when the class is about to start the signing process.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void start(AuthenticodeSignerStartEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerStartEvent {
  public int specifiedChecksum;
  public int actualChecksum;
  public boolean isSigned;
  public boolean cancel; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event marks the start of the signing process over a certain file.

SpecifiedChecksum is the checksum specified in the file itself, ActualChecksum is the actual checksum computed by the class, IsSigned specifies whether the file is already signed, and Cancel allows to stop the operation.

TimestampRequest Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when the class is ready to request a timestamp from an external TSA.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void timestampRequest(AuthenticodeSignerTimestampRequestEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTimestampRequestEvent {
  public String TSA;
  public String timestampRequest;
  public String timestampResponse; //read-write
  public boolean suppressDefault; //read-write
}

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to intercept timestamp requests. You can use it to override timestamping requests and perform them in your code.

The TSA parameter indicates the timestamping service being used. It matches the value passed to the TimestampServer property. Set the SuppressDefault parameter to false if you would like to stop the built-in TSA request from going ahead. The built-in TSA request is also not performed if the returned TimestampResponse parameter is not empty.

TLSCertNeeded Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when a remote TLS party requests a client certificate.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSCertNeeded(AuthenticodeSignerTLSCertNeededEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTLSCertNeededEvent {
  public String host;
  public String CANames;
}

Remarks

This event fires to notify the implementation that a remote TLS server has requested a client certificate. The Host parameter identifies the host that makes a request, and the CANames parameter (optional, according to the TLS spec) advises on the accepted issuing CAs.

Use the TLSClientChain property in response to this event to provide the requested certificate. Please make sure the client certificate includes the associated private key. Note that you may set the certificates before the connection without waiting for this event to fire.

This event is preceded by the TLSHandshake event for the given host and, if the certificate was accepted, succeeded by the TLSEstablished event.

TLSCertValidate Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

This event is fired upon receipt of the TLS server's certificate, allowing the user to control its acceptance.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSCertValidate(AuthenticodeSignerTLSCertValidateEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTLSCertValidateEvent {
  public String serverHost;
  public String serverIP;
  public boolean accept; //read-write
}

Remarks

This event is fired during a TLS handshake. Use the TLSServerChain property to access the certificate chain. In general, classes may contact a number of TLS endpoints during their work, depending on their configuration.

Accept is assigned in accordance with the outcome of the internal validation check performed by the class, and can be adjusted if needed.

TLSEstablished Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when a TLS handshake with Host successfully completes.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSEstablished(AuthenticodeSignerTLSEstablishedEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTLSEstablishedEvent {
  public String host;
  public String version;
  public String ciphersuite;
  public byte[] connectionId;
  public boolean abort; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class uses this event to notify the application about a successful completion of a TLS handshake.

The Version, Ciphersuite, and ConnectionId parameters indicate the security parameters of the new connection. Use the Abort parameter if you need to terminate the connection at this stage.

TLSHandshake Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Fires when a new TLS handshake is initiated, before the handshake commences.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSHandshake(AuthenticodeSignerTLSHandshakeEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTLSHandshakeEvent {
  public String host;
  public boolean abort; //read-write
}

Remarks

The class uses this event to notify the application about the start of a new TLS handshake to Host. If the handshake is successful, this event will be followed by the TLSEstablished event. If the server chooses to request a client certificate, the TLSCertNeeded event will also be fired.

TLSShutdown Event (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

Reports the graceful closure of a TLS connection.

Syntax

public class DefaultAuthenticodeSignerEventListener implements AuthenticodeSignerEventListener {
  ...
  public void TLSShutdown(AuthenticodeSignerTLSShutdownEvent e) {}
  ...
}

public class AuthenticodeSignerTLSShutdownEvent {
  public String host;
}

Remarks

This event notifies the application about the closure of an earlier established TLS connection. Note that only graceful connection closures are reported.

Certificate Type

Encapsulates an individual X.509 certificate.

Remarks

This type keeps and provides access to X.509 certificate details.

Fields

Constructors

public Certificate( bytes,  startIndex,  count,  password);

public Certificate( certBytes,  certStartIndex,  certCount,  keyBytes,  keyStartIndex,  keyCount,  password);

public Certificate( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public Certificate( path,  password);

public Certificate( certPath,  keyPath,  password);

public Certificate( path);

public Certificate( stream);

public Certificate( stream,  password);

public Certificate( certStream,  keyStream,  password);

public Certificate();

CRL Type

Represents a Certificate Revocation List.

Remarks

CRLs store information about revoked certificates, i.e., certificates that have been identified as invalid by their issuing certificate authority (CA) for any number of reasons.

Each CRL object lists certificates from a single CA and identifies them by their serial numbers. A CA may or may not publish a CRL, may publish several CRLs, or may publish the same CRL in multiple locations.

Unlike OCSP responses, CRLs only list certificates that have been revoked. They do not list certificates that are still valid.

Fields

Constructors

public CRL( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public CRL( location);

public CRL( stream);

public CRL();

ExternalCrypto Type

Specifies the parameters of external cryptographic calls.

Remarks

External cryptocalls are used in a Distributed Cryptography (DC) subsystem, which allows the delegation of security operations to the remote agent. For instance, it can be used to compute the signature value on the server, while retaining the client's private key locally.

Fields

Constructors

public ExternalCrypto();

OCSPResponse Type

Represents a single OCSP response originating from an OCSP responder.

Remarks

OCSP is a protocol that allows verification of certificate status in real-time, and is an alternative to Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs).

An OCSP response is a snapshot of the certificate status at a given time.

Fields

Constructors

public OCSPResponse( bytes,  startIndex,  count);

public OCSPResponse( location);

public OCSPResponse( stream);

public OCSPResponse();

ProxySettings Type

A container for proxy server settings.

Remarks

This type exposes a collection of properties for tuning up the proxy server configuration.

Fields

Constructors

public ProxySettings();

SignatureAttribute Type

Represents an attribute of a digital PKCS#7/CMS signature.

Remarks

Attributes store auxiliary information about the signed message, the signature, or the owner. Each attribute is a OID=Value pair.

Common attributes are signing time, a content type, a policy identifier, and a signature timestamp.

Fields

Constructors

public SignatureAttribute();

SocketSettings Type

A container for the socket settings.

Remarks

This type is a container for socket-layer parameters.

Fields

Constructors

public SocketSettings();

TLSSettings Type

A container for TLS connection settings.

Remarks

The TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol provides security for information exchanged over insecure connections such as TCP/IP.

Fields

Constructors

public TLSSettings();

Config Settings (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

The class accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

AuthenticodeSigner Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (AuthenticodeSigner Class)

AuthenticodeSigner Errors